Box-type cartridge magazine



July 21,1959 R. R SAWIN 2,895,248

BOX-TYPE CARTRIDGE MAGAZINE Filed July 24, 1957 INVENTOR KAYMfl/VD E SAW/N B: d zg q ldziffm A2 I 2,895,248 I BOX-TYPE CARTRIDGE MAGAZINE Raymond R. Sawin, Harnden, Conn., assignor to 0. F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., New Haven, Conn, 11 corporation of Connecticut Application July 24, 1957, Serial No. 673,826 8 Claims. (Cl. 42-50 This. invention relates to cartridge magazines for firearms, and it relates more particularly to box-type magazines which are adapted to hold cartridges of different lengths. A

Certain firearms are chambered to receive cartridges of the same caliber but of various lengths. This is, especially true of .22 caliber firearms, such as automatic pistols or repeating rifles, for which cartridges of several lengths and ranges of power are available.

The .22 short cartridges, while being of lesser fire power, are in most instances preferable for use'in target. practice since their power .is generally sufli'cient for all target purposes and they are considerably less expensive than either the .22 long or long-rifle cartridges. However, in: many instances where accuracy at greater range is required, it is essential to use either the .22 long or long-rifle cartridges.

In firearms having box-type cartridge magazines, it has been the practice heretofore to provide different magazines for different length cartridges, or in some cases to use amagazine. capable of properly feeding the longest cartridges into a gun chamber and providing an adapter which is inserted into the magazine so that it will hold the shorter cartridges. An example of the latter arrangement, is shown in the patent to Benson 2,507,364,. In either case, however, considerable inconvenience to a user results from the fact that he musteither obtain and carry two or more magazinesor an adapter for each size cartridge in addition to the magazine. Where the magazine is convertible by means of adapter elements, such elements are. necessarily rather small in size and easily misplaced or lost when removed from .the magazine during the time when the longer cartridges are being used. If the adapter. is not available when. a change from the longer to the shorter cartridges is, necessary, themagazine is inoperative with the shorter cartridges since they would become jammed, if not in the magazine, in the process of being fed into the. firing chamber. of the gun.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present in vention to provide an improved cartridge magazine of the above disclosed type which, as a single composite unit, I

may be quickly and simply adapted to receive, carry and effectively deliver cartridges of different lengths but of the same caliber. A further object is to provide a cartridge magazine which may be quickly and readily adapted to receive and guide cartridges of different lengths without the need of removable or insertable adaptors which have heretofore been required for such purposes.

According to the present invention, a composite box magazine capable of being converted for use with cartridges of various lengths is provided by guiding one end of the cartridges in the magazine against a stationary wall thereof in the usual way and by providing a movable guide-element adjustably spaced from the stationary wall for guiding the opposite ends of the cartridges, the movable guide-element and frame of the magazine hav- 2 ing engageable locking portions for locating the guideelement .at various distances from the stationary wall, the guide-element being connected to the follower spring of the magazine in such a way that the spring resiliently" urges it into fixed locking engagement in the magazine at any selected position. Consequently, if it is desired to convert the magazine so that it can be used with longer or shorter cartridges of the same caliber, it is only necessary to unlock the movable guide-element against the urge of the follower spring, to which. it is connected, and to move it closer to, or farther away from the stationary wall to a position where a cartridge of desired length will fit with its opposite ends guided by said movable guide-element and the stationary wall,

respectively. The movable guide-element is then locked into the magazine frame again at the desiredlocation by the. follower spring. Since the guide-element is not removable from the magazine, it can not get lost.

Another object is to provide a cartridge magazine of the .above'character which is simple, compact, eificient.

in use, and relatively economical tomanufacture.

Other objects andyadvantages of the invention will a portion of a firearm shown partially in section and broken away.

Fig. 2. is an enlarged top plan view of the cartridge magazine illustrated in Fig. 1.;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line. 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the adjustable guide-element.

R ferrin m particularly to the drawing wher in like characters of reference designate like parts through out the various views thereof, the device embodying the invention Comprises an elongated box-like cartridge magazine 10 adapted and arranged to be detachably secured tothe receiver portion, 11 of a-firearrn 12 generally in the manner illustrated in Fig. ,l. The firearm 12 ofFig. 1. is shown for the purpose of. illustrating a practical application of the novel features and principles of the invention and it isto be understood that the device of. the. invention may .be readily adapted for use with various. other types of firearms, such as pistols. The firearm 12 of Fig. 1, being a rifle vof the well-known. bolt action. type,includes a bolt 13 slidably mounted in the receiver 11 thereof for the purpose, among others, of carrying a. cartridge 14 from the open end or mouth of magazine 10 into a firing chamber 15 of the barrel 16. The chamberlS .is formed ofv a particular sizeadapted to receive cartridges of difierent lengths but of the same caliber.

The magazine 10 may be operatively positioned on the firearm, 12 by detachably securing it to the. receiver 11. A bracket having. a catch tongue 17 isprovided for this purpose and is aligned relative to. receiver 11 so. as to properlylocate the upper edges 18 and 19 ofthe mouth of magazine 10 in the receiver 11. Edges 1.8..and 19 then act as guides for feeding cartridge. 14 into the chamber 15 as bolt 13 moves forwardly.

Magazine 10 is formed of a single piece ofsheet metal or the like 'bent over to forma box-like structure having a front wall 20 from which. the sides 21 and 22 extend rearwardly. The rear edges. 23 and 2.4 of the sides 21 and 22, respectively, are bent inwardly toward each other and are spaced apart to form. a guideway for receiving. the catch tongue 17 in the manner illustrated'in'Fig. l. The rearend of magazine/I0 is closed Patented July 21, 1959.

in dot-dash lines in Fig. 3.

and are pcened over; -As will become more apparent.-

hereinaften'plate 25 functions as a stationary guide for cartridges 14, againstwhich their rear primer ends slide when moved upwardly or downwardly in the magazine.

The magazine is of a sufficient depth and length to receive a plurality of cartridges. 14 of the maximum 7 length available for the caliber desired. For'example, when '.22' caliber cartridges are used, the length of the magazine is sufiicient to receive a plurality of .22 long.

rifle cartridges as illustrated by the cartridge 14a shown 7 However, since .22 caliber cartridges are also available inshorter lengths, novel means has been provided-lathe magazine for support-' ing such shorter cartridges in proper position in the I magazine. I

In order to properly receive and'deliver cartridges 14,

magazine 10 is provided with a follower 27 '(Figs. 2- I and 3) which is slidably mounted therein and guided by the sides 21- and 22,ifront wall 20 and-rear plate .or I

wall 25 thereof. Follower 27 is provided with depending end and'side parts 28 and29, respectively, which lie against the inner ends and sides of magazine '10 to maintainfollower 27 in its properly oriented relation-within the. magazine and to permit it to slide freely therein.

A coil spring 30 positioned between follower 27 and a plurality (usually seven) of cartridges regardless ofltheir dilferent lengths.

The guide-element 38 extends from the open end down to the bottom of magazine 10 and is formed of a relati-vely thin, resilient piece of sheet-metal, having an elongated body portion 39, with an tip-turned lower end 40 and ,anupper head part including a pairof laterally extending arms 41, (Fig. 5). A plurality of notches 42, 43 and 44 are provided in each of the upper edges of the sides 21' and 22 of magazine 10 for adjustably. receiving and locking the arms 41 of guide-element 38. It will be noted that the upper notched edges of the magazinc and the head part of the guide-element form .cngageable locking portions for'locating the guiderelement forwardly or. rearwardly in the magazine. An elongated'slot 45 (Figs. 2 and 3) is provided in the forward portion of follower .27, through, whichslot the body portion 39 of guide-element 38 fits, so that it can extend down between I. the coils of. spring 30 to the bottom of the magazine,

. wardly turned end 46 of spring-30. .Follower 27' is where its lower end 40 is hooked toan L-shaped, in-

stepped at 27a so that the forward portion adjacent slot 45 is lower than the rear or cartridge engaging part.

This permits thefollower to clearthe arms 41 of guide element 38 when theyare located in notches 42-44 and when follower 27 is at the top of the magazine after de 7 I livering the last cartridge.

cover plate 31 at the bottomof the'magazine constantly I urges follower 27 upwardly. Cover plate 31 is secured to the magazine by integrally formed lugs 32' whichare bent into appropriate openings 33 in the front and rear.

walls 20 and of the magazine (Figs. 3 and 4).

Follower spring functions to urge follower 27 and cartridges 14, when located'in magazine 10, upwardly towards the open end or mouth of magazine, 10, and

cartridges14 are prevented from'being' pushed out of the mouth of magazine 10 by inturned holddown lips 34 and 35 formed in the upper edges 18 and. 19, respectively, of the magazine. Notches 36' and 37. which are cut in the respective sides '21 and 22,'forwardly of lips. 34 and 35 at their upper edges, permit the insertion or delivery of cartridges 14. That is, the magazine is loaded by placing the head of a cartridge between notches 36 and 37 and forcing said cartridge downwardly against follower 27 compressing spring 30 and then sliding the cartridge rcarwardly against back plate 25 beneath lips 34 and 35. Conversely, when a cartridge in the position shown in Fig. 1 is to be fed from themagazine to the firing chamber, it is pushed forwardly by bolt 13 and then upwardly by the follower 27 when the head or rim of the cartridge clears holddown lips 34 and 35.

As illustrated more particularly by the dot-dash outlines of the cartridges in Fig. 3, a .22 caliber short cartridge is considerably shorter in length than the longrifle cartridge 14a, while a .22 caliber long 14b is of intermediate length. If used in a magazine specifically designed for only long-rifle cartridges, the short or long cartridges would tend to slip forwardly out of vertical alignment in the magazine and would tend to tilt downwardly as well, when pushed forwardly by bolt 13. This would cause the cartridges to jam between the bolt 13 and the forward end of the magazine. On the other hand, the cartridge might flip over and be caught between .he bolt and the rear of the barrel 16. In order to avoid uch difficulties it has been the practice heretofore either to use separate magazines specifically designed for each tjf the difierent sizes of cartridges, or to provide a separate insertable element for adapting a magazine, which s capable of holding long-rifle cartridges, so thatit will also hold longs or shorts. i

A particular feature of the present invention is the provision of a novel guide-element 38 within magazine 10 forv simply, efiiciently and readily adapting said maga- Line for effectively receiving, holding and delivering a The lowermost coil of sprmg30 is secured against the inner surface of cover plate '31 by a hook 47 struck out of plate31, under which said coil is positioned when plate 31 is, assembled on the magazine. Hook 47 performs the dual function of retaining spring 30 in properly aligned relation with the side and end walls of maga zine 30 and,-more particularly, of converting the lower most coil of spring 30 into a spring arm for resiliently urging the arms 41 at the top. 0r guide-element 38 down I wardly into one of the pairs of notches 42, 43 or 44.

Hook 47, therefore, prevents guide-element 38 from being lifted too far up in .themagazine which would c01 lapse spring 30 and tilt or twist it out of place so that it can not function properly toloclt arms 41, into notches 42, 43 or 44. It will be noted that the arms 41 of guideelement 38 may be selectively positionedin any desired pair of notches 42, 43 or 44 by lifting element 38 up wardly against the pull of spring 30 and moving it forwardly or rearwardly in magazine 10. In so adjusting guide-element 38, the space between end wall 25 and guide-element 38 of the magazine is increased or decreased. In order to facilitate the adjustment of element 38, the extremities of arms 41 are provided with enlarged tab-like cars 48, which are bent rearwardly to lie against their adjacent sides 21 and 22 ofmagazine 10. It will be noted that due to thefact that the material of member 38 is relatively thin, cars 48 do not interfere with" the insertion of the magazine into the receiver of the firearm 12.

With the arms 41 of guide-element 38 seated in notches 42, for example, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the space be tween the body portion 39 of element 38 and the plate 25 of magazine 10 is such as to just receive the shorter length cartridges (.22 caliber shorts). That is, the cartridges 14 are held in engagement with plate 25 due to contact of the nose of the bullet with guide-element 38 when the cartridges are loaded into the magazine. In order to assist in precisely aligning cartridges 14 in superimposed relation with each other, the body portion 39 of element 38 is provided with a cup-shaped channel 49 throughout the major portion of its length to fittingly re ceive the nose of the bullets and to guide them as they are moved up or down in the magazine. By so confining cartridges 14 in magazine 10, no forward slippage of the cartridges is possible, and they will be maintained in perfect vertical alignment within the magazine. In addition to the arms 41 and ears 48, the upper end of guidemember 38 is provided with a forwardly extending tab part 50, which acts as a guide for directing the nose of each cartridge towardthe chamber 15 in barrel 16, when the cartridges are pushed forwardly by bolt- 10. Tab part 50, therefore, prevents downward tilting of cartridges 14- so as to ensure proper feeding into the chamber.

It can be seen that due to thefact thatfollower 27 is slotted at 45, itstravel is not restricted by element 38', so that it-canmove up anddown in magazine in the conventional manner. When the last cartridge; in the magazine has been used, the cartridge-engaging portion of follower 27 strikes a pair of stop-lugs formed by indentations 51' (Fig. 1), through the side walls 21 and 22, adjacent their upper edges 18, 19, to prevent the fol lower from moving too far up in the magazine.

If it is desired to load the magazine 10 with a plurality of long-rifie cartridges; guide-element 38 is lifted by means of ears 48-against the pull of spring 30 out of notches 42 and then-moved" forwardly towards wall 20; to notches 44; into which arms 41 will be securely drawn by spring 30 when element" '38 is released. The space between the body portion 39 of element 38 and back plate 25 of magazine 10 will then be substantially equal to the length of a long-rifle cartridge 14a, as illustrated by the dot-dash lines of Fig. 3. Operation of magazine for longrifle cartridges would then be precisely the same as for the short cartridges. If cartridges 14b of an intermediate length, such as .22 caliber longs, are to be used, the arms 41 of guide-element 38 are positioned in notches 43 in a manner analogous to that described for notches 42 and 44. The spacing between element 38 and plate 25 would then accommodate .22 caliber long cartridges.

It will be noted, however, that since the guide-element 38 is pivoted about the end 46 of spring 30 when its upper end is moved from one of notches 42, 43 or 44 to another, a slight tapering in the width of the space between element 38 and plate 25 occurs at certain positions. For instance, with guide-element 38 set in notches 42 for receiving the .22 short cartridges 14, the width of such space at the mouth of the magazine is designed to be almost exactly equal to the length of this cartridge so as to ensure proper egress of cartridges 14. However, at a point further down in the magazine, the width of the space may be slightly greater than the length of cartridges 14. This, nevertheless, does not affect the proper guiding of cartridges 14, since the channel 49 in the guide-element 38 will overlap the nose parts of said cartridges and guide them. Furthermore, even without the channel 49, the cartridges will feed properly in the lower part of the magazine, despite the fact that the space may be wider than the length of the cartridges. With the element 38 positioned in notches 44 for receiving longrifie cartridges 14a, it can be seen (Fig. 3) that the distance between element 38 and plate 25 at the mouth of the magazine is equal to the length of a cartridge 14a, but is slightly less than this length toward the bottom of the magazine. This likewise does not adversely affect the function of the magazine, since the body portion 39 of element 38 is resilient and in combination with the resilient action of spring 30, will bow forwardly as cartridges 14a are loaded into the magazine. Consequently, the guideelement 38 will hold the cartridges against plate 25 while efiiciently guiding them as they are moved downwardly or upwardly in the magazine.

While the device of the invention has been described as being adapted to receive the various common lengths of .22 caliber cartridges, it is to be understood that such an arrangement may be readily designed to accommodate other lengths of cartridges by properly locating the notches 42, 43 and 44 on the upper edges of sides 21 and 22. Furthermore, a magazine of the above character could be designed in a like manner to receive cartridges of different caliber.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that by providing the single composite magazine of the present invention, it is far more convenient to fire ammunition of different power-than inthe case where sepan adapter be inserted or removed from the magazine to convert it for use with such diiferent' cartridges.

Furthermore, it is obviously considerably more economical to' have only one magazine than it is to have two or more, particularly where, as, in the present embodiment of'the invention, the additional expense tomanufacture the convertible magazine is negligible as compared to the old type of magazine which will handlecart-ridges of only one size.

Various changes in the construction and arrangement ofpartsshown and described may be made by those skilled in the art' without departing from the spirit; of'

the invention as definedin the accompanying claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter shown and described isto be consideredas-illustrative and'not limiting.

What is claimed is:

1'. A magazine for firearms, which 'is' convertible for receiving and delivering cartridges of various lengths but of the same caliber, comprising in combination as a single composite unit, a box-like structure capable of receiving a plurality of cartridges in superimposed relation, one end of said magazine being open for delivery of the cartridge one after the other to the firing chamber of a gun, a cartridge follower guided within said structure having a follower spring urging said cartridge follower toward said open end, a stationary element adjacent one side of said structure for guiding one end of each of said cartridges, and a movable guide-element extending generally parallel to and adjustably spaced from said stationary element for guiding the opposite ends of said cartridges; said guide-element and box-like structure having engageable locking portions for locating said guide-element at various distances from said stationary element, said guide-element being connected to said follower spring and retained thereby in said magazine with said follower spring normally resiliently urging said guide-element into locking engagement with the locking portion of said box-like structure at any selected position with respect to said stationary element.

2. A magazine for firearms, which is convertible for receiving and delivering cartridges of various lengths but of the same caliber, comprising in combination as a Single composite unit a box-like structure capable of receiving a plurality of cartridges disposed transversely in superimposed relation between the front and hear walls thereof, said structure being closed at one end, the other end being open for delivery of the cartridges one after another to the firing chamber of a 'gun, a cartridge follower guided within said structure for limited movement longitudinally between the open and closed ends thereof, a follower spring urging said follower toward the open end, and an elongated guide-element disposed longitudinally within the magazine and adjustably spaced from one of said walls adjacent the open end of the magazine a distance substantially equal to the length of the cartridge to be received; said guideelement and box-like structure having engageable locking portions for locating said guide-element at various points between the front and rear walls thereof for varying the length of the space within which the cartridges are received, said guide-element being connected to said follower spring and retained thereby in said magazine with said follower spring normally resiliently urging said guide-element into locking engagement with the locking portion of said box-like structure at any selected position forwardly and backwardly thereof.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein said follower Ispring comprises a coil spring compressed between said follower and the closed end of the magazine, and which further includes means at an end coil of said spring for fastening it to the closed end of'the magazine,

said guide-element being connected to said spring at a point thereon spaced from the point at which said coil is fastened to said magazine.

. 4. The combination defined in claim 3, wherein said magazine is provided witha removable cover at its closed end, the means for fastening said spring comprising a hook on said cover to which said end coil is connected.

5. The combination defined in claim 4, wherein the end of the spring at said end coil is bent inwardly of said coil and the end of said guide-element is provided with an upturned portion which hooks onto the inwardly bent end of said spring.

6. The combination defined in claim 5, wherein the locking portion on said box-like structure for locating said guide-element forwardly and backwardly comprises the upper edges of the side walls of said box-like structure, in which walls are formed notches for receiving the upper end of said guide-member which is urged into said notches by said follower spring.

7. The combination defined in claim 6, wherein the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 431,410 Speed July 1, 1890 1,401,152 Green Dec. 27, 1921 2,185,676 Moneta Jan. 2, 1940 2,205,967 Wise June 25, 1940 ,296,729 Mossberg Sept. 22, 1942 2,507,364 Benson May 9, 1950 

